Improvement in steam-engines for land-carriages



y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT E. ROGEROF `PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENTIN STEAM-ENGINES FOR LAND-CARRIAGES.

Specicaton forming part of Letters Patent No. 26,619, dated December 27, 1859.

To a/ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. ROGERS, of the city of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain Improvement 011 Steam- Engines for Land-Carriages; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters and marks thereon.

My improvement is more particularly designed for city passenger railway-cars, but,l

injuries, to disturb the comfort of passengers and citizens generally, and also greatly to interfere with many of the ordinary affairs of business.

It is anticipated that at this time my invention will be readily adopted by city-railway companies, and that steam-carriages will take the place of horse-cars. As such carriages will have to make frequent stoppages, the escape of steam by its noise will be found very objectionable, and it will become very important in introducing such carriages in cities to avoid such objection.

My invention has in view the perfect and complete adaptation of the steam-engine to city railways; and it consists in rendering the escape-steam of the safety-valve, gagecocks, or try-cocks, and exhaust-steam from the cylinder noiseless.

The drawingforming part of this specification illustrates the carrying out of my invenc, together with the exhaust-pipe ol of thecylinder e, are all put in connection with a condenser f, so that whatever steam escapes either from the boiler or the engine will be immediately condensed and rendered noiseless. The pipe connecting the try-cocks with the condenser may be throughout its length l of metal, either with some flapping device in it near the try-cock for indicating by sound the escape of water or steam, or the engineer may rely only on the sound which would be produced by the escape of the steam or water from the one or morecocks into the pipe, or a portion of the pipe maybe of glass 1 plate, or a glass tube of sufficient strength may be interposed between the end ofthe metallic pipe and the try-cock, and thus the engineer be able tojudge ofthe water in the i boiler both by sound and sight. The conl denser may be so constructed as to condense by water or by air, or by both air and water, as may be preferred, and the water of condensation may be allowed to run to waste or be used as feed-water to the boiler.

The advantages of my invention will be seen to extend to the safety of boilers wherever it may be applied. Suppose itbe desired or necessary for the `power required that steam of sixty-pounds pressure be regularly used, it will be readily perceived that if the safety-valve be loaded to the sixtypounds pressure whenever from the stoppage of the carriage or engine the steam would be con fined and its generation being continued,

the excess above that pressure would quietly pass olf and without noise ordisturbance.

Thus the engine would be at` all times operated or actuated by steam of a uniform degree of pressure and the rate of speed established or controlled.

` A further advantage of this invention pertains to the management of the fire, sinceby condensing al1 the escape-steam and renderl ing it thereby noiseless there exists no objection to so load the valve as to permit the` l free escape at all times far within the limits of the strength and safety of the boiler.

boiler and facility to the management ofthe re.

Having thus fully and clearly set out my inVention,What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Connecting the safety-Valve, lhe gage or try cooks, and all the steam-escape orifices of an engine and boiler with a condensing apparatus, whereby lche steam which may escape or belet off either occasionally or continuously nnay be prevented from producing its peculiar harsh noise, as herein described.

Witnesses:

LORENZO TAGGART, C. BRAZER.

R. E. ROGERS. 

